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TIL that when Martin Scorsese read the book Wiseguy, which he would eventually adapt into the classic mob film Goodfellas, he called author Nicholas Pileggi and said, “I’ve been waiting for this book my entire life” to which Pileggi replied “I’ve been waiting for this phone call my entire life.”

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8Opa TIL that three 17th century Qing dynasty era vases valued at 500,000 pounds were shattered at a Cambridge museum when a visitor descending a staircase tripped on his shoelace and fell into them.
XEOeP TIL snake oil was introduced to the US by Chinese laborers who helped build the Transcontinental Railroad. Derived from the Chinese water snake, snake oil was rich in the omega-3 acids that help reduce inflammation and was quite effective, especially when used to treat arthritis and bursitis.
dDE0K TIL Freud smoked about 20 cigars a day and was not convinced that cigars were linked to his heart problems. He eventually got oral cancer, suffered attacks of “tobacco angina”, or heart palpitations, whenever he smoked, and died with removed jaw
p8r14 TIL That only 3 people have died in space. Russian astronauts: Georgy Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev, Vladislav Volkov were all killed at the same time due to an undocking malfunction in 1971. Whilst there have been fatalities during take-off and re-entry, those 3 are the only to die IN space.
M7Dnm TIL that Alaska actually has the easternmost point in America, which is Semisopochnoi, AK, because it is on the other side of the 180th meridian.